January 2014

NEWS FROM THE FCC

MORE THAN 1 MILLION PEOPLE CALL ON FCC TO SAVE NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Free Press, AUTHOR: Press release]
Free Press led a coalition of organizations -- including the American Civil Liberties Union, Avaaz, Common Cause, ColorOfChange, CREDO, DailyKos, Demand Progress, Fight for the Future, the Harry Potter Alliance, MoveOn, RootsAction and the Sierra Club -- that delivered more than 1 million petitions to the Federal Communications Commission urging the agency to restore network neutrality. “Just two weeks after a federal court threw out the FCC’s Net Neutrality rules, we delivered petitions from more than 1 million people who support the freedom to connect and communicate online,” said Free Press Internet Campaign Director Josh Levy. “It’s time for the agency to correct its past mistakes, reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service, and restore Net Neutrality for good. Net Neutrality is the reason all of these petitions even exist, and it's so important to protect everyone’s ability to say what they want and go where they want online without an Internet service provider interfering.” The groups also delivered a letter signed by more than 80 organizations echoing the need for the FCC to take swift action.
benton.org/node/173708 | Free Press
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FCC CHAIRMAN WHEELER: FCC WILL PUT SOME FLESH ON OPEN INTERNET PRINCIPLES 'SHORTLY'
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said the commission will soon put more "flesh" on how the FCC will preserve basic Internet openness principles in the wake of the DC federal court's vacating and remand of the FCC's non-blocking and non-discrimination rules. Following the FCC's public meeting Jan 30, Chairman Wheeler did not say how he would approach that, including whether or not that would be using the FCC's current authority or reclassifying broadband as a common carrier service, saying he was still considering all the tools in his toolkit. "As I have also said, we interpret the court decision as an invitation and we will accept that invitation," he said, echoing his statement following the court decision two weeks ago. Chairman Wheeler has signaled he might take a case-by-case approach to enforcing those principles, but was asked how that would square with giving stakeholders notice of what might run afoul of them. Chairman Wheeler repeated that he was in support of an open Internet and said he would be actively protecting it. But he would not provide any specifics.
benton.org/node/173669 | Broadcasting&Cable | AdWeek
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FCC INVITES IP TRANSITION TRIALS
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
On January 30, the FCC invited voluntary experiments meant to ensure that the nation’s communications networks continue to provide the services consumers want and need in this era of historic technological transformations. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said the launch of these trials is a "very big deal." He said that companies want to shut off circuit-switched networks, but that requires the FCC to make very important decisions that it should not take lightly. Chairman Wheeler pointed out that these are not technical trials -- "We know how to build an IP network," he said. Instead the FCC is framing the experiments as a way to ensure that the traditional values embedded in telecommunications policy continue through these transitions. Chairman Wheeler said consumers have come to expect certain things, and a right to expect those things, from their networks.
http://benton.org/node/173618
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FCC: REPORT & ORDER ON INCENTIVE AUCTIONS BY SPRING
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Federal Communications Commission incentive auction staffers outlined a timeline for action on a host of FCC incentive auction issues, but did not signal how they may be resolved. In a presentation to the commissioners, the FCC's Incentive Auction Task Force said that by early 2015 the commission would be accepting bids from TV stations for the reverse auction and wireless companies -- and perhaps others -- for the forward auction. The task force said the report and order (R&O) would provide a framework for dealing with issues including a band plan and TV station repacking but that there would be opportunity for comment and further tweaking, something FCC Chairman Wheeler emphasized in a post-meeting press conference. Among the other issues to be at least addressed in the report and order are unlicensed operations, bid payments, reimbursement of broadcaster costs and licensing and operating rules. The FCC also said it would increase funding for broadcaster outreach.
benton.org/node/173697 | Broadcasting&Cable | see the presentation
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FCC SETS PATH FOR WIDESPREAD TEXT-TO-911 DEPLOYMENT
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Communications Commission said that text providers should enable the public to text 911 in an emergency, encouraging providers that have not begun deploying text-to-911 to forge solutions to meet this goal. The Commission also sought further comment on regulatory proposals to help ensure that Americans will be able to send these texts by the end of 2014, regardless of which text provider they use, in areas where 911 call centers can receive texts. Noting Americans’ increasing reliance on text messaging, the Commission said that access to 911 is a core value that should be maintained as technology changes. Reports indicate that 91 percent of American adults own a cell phone, and 81 percent of cell phone owners use text messaging. In addition, Internet-based (“over the top”) text messaging applications are an increasingly popular alternative to the text messaging provided by wireless carriers (called short messaging service, or SMS). While voice calling to 911 remains the preferred method, consumers also expect to be able to send a text to 911 and have it reach authorities. Yet text-to-911 is not currently available in most areas or on most texting platforms. In adopting a policy statement that outlines objectives for text-to-911, the Commission noted that the nation’s four largest wireless carriers, with the support of leading public safety organizations, voluntarily committed to make text-to-911 available to their customers by May 15, 2014, in areas where the 911 call center is prepared to receive texts. The Commission recognized the leadership of these wireless carriers and the 911 call centers that are deploying text-to-911, and said that action is needed to make the service uniformly available.
benton.org/node/173691 | Federal Communications Commission | The Hill
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FCC AGENDA
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced that the following items will be on the tentative agenda for the next open meeting scheduled for Thursday, February 20, 2014:
Promoting Quality Closed Captioning to Make Television Programming Accessible to All: The Commission will consider a Report and Order, Declaratory Ruling, and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that addresses the quality and technical compliance of closed captioning on television programming to ensure that video programming is fully accessible to individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing.
Improving Wireless E911 Location Accuracy: The Commission will consider a Third Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to ensure that accurate caller location information is automatically provided to public safety officials for all wireless calls to 911, including indoor calls, to meet consumer and public safety needs and expectations, and to take advantage of new technological developments.
benton.org/node/173705 | Federal Communications Commission
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EDUCATION

A CASE FOR CHEAPER BROADBAND IN SCHOOLS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Quentin Hardy]
EducationSuperHighway, a nonprofit organization with its roots in the high-tech industry has gathered some 40 executives to demand that the Federal Communications Commission change how it is wiring America’s schools. EducationSuperHighway wants the FCC to add transparency and competition to the E-Rate program, which spends billions of dollars annually to bring broadband to schools. Schools are paying too much to get connected, the group said, and the pace of development is too slow. “This is about preparing a new work force,” said Evan C. Marwell, the chief executive of EducationSuperHighway. “The CEOs get that; both sides of the aisle in Congress get that.” Among the companies signing the letter are the chief executives of American Express, Dell, eBay, Facebook, Google, Hewlett-Packard and Yahoo. Most of the companies represented are in high tech. The signatories also include several well-known venture capitalists. Mark Zuckerberg, the head of Facebook, is, along with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, one of the nonprofit’s backers.
Benton Foundation board member Jim Kohlenberger works with EducationSuperHighway]
benton.org/node/173702 | New York Times | eSchool News | USAToday | Broadband
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REPUBLICANS WANT COST ANALYSIS OF E-RATE REVAMPS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Republican leadership of the House Commerce Committee and ranking members of the Democrat-led Senate Commerce Committee have asked the Federal Communications Commission to refer any expansion of the E-rate program to the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service. In a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, the legislators expressed concerns about the dollar signs and zeroes that might be attached to the so-called E-Rate 2.0 proposals. They say that the contribution factor to the fund -- which subsidizes advanced telecommunications service to schools, libraries and other anchor institutions -- has risen from 9.5% in 2009 to 16.4% in the first quarter of 2014, which they point out consumers wind up paying.
benton.org/node/173701 | Broadcasting&Cable | see the letter
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CONNECTED COSTS ARE UNDERESTIMATED
[SOURCE: American Enterprise Institute, AUTHOR: Michael Horney]
[Commentary] The Obama Administration put forth the ConnectED program and estimated that it would cost $4-6 billion to reach 99 percent of schools with speeds of 1Gbps. While centrally planned estimates of any kind are rarely spot on, this cost is severely underestimated. According to data collected by Infonetics, American Internet service providers invested approximately $75 billion in broadband infrastructure in 2013.Taking into consideration that this$75 billion, along with investments from prior years, have resulted in no more than 28% of schools having 1 Gbps service, it is difficult to imagine that the Administration will be able to cover the remaining 72% with a budget of only $4 - 6 billion. The state of American broadband is quite healthy due to intermodal competition between DSL, cable, fiber, and wireless ISPs. The vast innovations we have seen over the past 15 years in broadband should be applauded, not criticized by the media and replaced by Federal programs. Can this goal be achieved? Yes, but only if local communities are willing to pay for it through a bottom-up system of broadband growth.
[Michael Horney is a second year MA Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, studying policy topics such broadband, technology, education and regulations]
benton.org/node/173699 | American Enterprise Institute
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OWNERSHIP

FCC TRIBUNE DECISION
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public Notice]
The United Church of Christ, the Media Alliance, and Charles Benton (yes, that Charles Benton) asked the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider its decision granting the applications to transfer control of Tribune Company and its licensee subsidiaries from its former shareholders to Sam Zell, The Tribune Employee Stock Ownership Plan as implemented through the Tribune Employee Stock Ownership Trust, and EGI-TRB, LLC. In that decision, the FCC also granted the broadcast license renewal applications filed by Tribune for four of its stations. The FCC has denied the petition for reconsideration.
benton.org/node/173635 | Federal Communications Commission
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SECURITY/PRIVACY

CYBERSECURITY STRUGGLE
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Tony Romm]
The partisan squabbling on Capitol Hill often precludes lawmakers from acting as quickly as the speedy iPhones and self-driving cars that they’re supposed to help regulate. It has also paved a digital fast lane of sorts for President Barack Obama. Some of the most pressing technology issues in Washington -- from the security of the country’s networks to the way government handles patents or hires tech experts -- are being adjudicated predominately by the White House, an unavoidable go-it-alone approach in debates that matter to tech giants in Silicon Valley and profit-makers on Wall Street.
benton.org/node/173719 | Politico
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

WHY TECH COMPANIES AND THE NSA DIVERGE ON SNOWDEN
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Peter Swire]
[Commentary] Is Edward Snowden a whistleblower or a traitor? There is a vast cultural divide between Silicon Valley and Washington on this issue, and the reasons reveal much about the broader debates about what to do in the wake of the leaks. As a member of President Obama’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies, I spoke with numerous people in the intelligence community. Not one said that Snowden was a whistleblower. The level of anger was palpable. Intelligence officers see Snowden as a serial destroyer of classified secrets. He plotted for months to violate the law on a massive scale. He has tipped off foreign adversaries about numerous programs that will require countless hours of work to revise; many will not regain their previous effectiveness. Even though Snowden rejected all the existing options for a whistleblower -- including congressional committees or avenues within the National Security Agency (NSA) -- the view from Silicon Valley and privacy groups is much different. Last fall, I asked the leader of a Silicon Valley company about the whistleblower-vs.-traitor debate. He said that more than 90 percent of his employees would call Snowden a whistleblower. Fundamentally, the traitor-or-whistleblower debate comes down to different views of what values should be paramount in governing the Internet we all use. The Internet is where surveillance happens to keep our nation safe. It is also where we engage in e-commerce and express ourselves in infinite ways. The goal is to create one communications structure that safeguards diverse, important values.
[Peter Swire is a professor of law and ethics at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Scheller College of Business. He was a member of President Obama’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies]
benton.org/node/173645 | Washington Post
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TRACKING CANADIAN TRAVELERS
[SOURCE: CBC, AUTHOR: Greg Weston, Glenn Greenwald, Ryan Gallagher]
A top secret document retrieved by US whistleblower Edward Snowden shows that Canada's electronic spy agency used information from the free Internet service at a major Canadian airport to track the wireless devices of thousands of ordinary airline passengers for days after they left the terminal. Ronald Deibert, one of Canada's foremost authorities on cyber-security, says the clandestine operation by the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) was almost certainly illegal. The spy agency is supposed to be collecting primarily foreign intelligence by intercepting overseas phone and internet traffic, and is prohibited by law from targeting Canadians or anyone in Canada without a judicial warrant.
benton.org/node/173711 | CBC
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POLICYMAKERS

NSA NOMINEE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Sanger, Thom Shanker]
In nominating Vice Adm. Michael S. Rogers as the new director of the National Security Agency, President Barack Obama chose a recognized expert in the new art of designing cyberweapons, but someone with no public track record in addressing the kinds of privacy concerns that have put the agency under a harsh spotlight. Obama’s decision to pick a military officer, rather than a civilian versed in civil liberties issues, was made weeks ago, when he rejected his own advisory panel’s recommendation that the NSA and the United States Cyber Command have separate leaders. By law the command, the Pentagon’s four-year-old cyberwarfare organization, must be headed by a military officer. The result is that Admiral Rogers, now the head of Fleet Cyber Command, the Navy’s fast-growing cyberunit, will find himself in the public cross hairs in a way he has never been during a 33-year military career. Starting with his confirmation hearings, expected to begin as soon as February, the admiral will be pressed on how he would carry out a series of changes that President Obama announced two weeks ago.
As it made its widely expected nomination of Admiral Rogers, the administration announced its choice for deputy director of the agency: Rick Ledgett, the NSA official who has been heading the task force assessing the damage done by the revelations of Edward J. Snowden, the former agency contractor. It will clearly be Ledgett’s job to put in place a series of internal changes designed to prevent a repeat of what officials have called the biggest leak of secret data in American history and to deal with its continuing effects.
benton.org/node/173721 | New York Times | Dept of Defense press release | WSJ | FT
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Analysis

January 2014

Big Data’s Dangerous New Era of Discrimination

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel And the Mantle of Michael Copps

January 31, 2014 (News from the FCC; New Head for NSA)

The End of the Beginning: FCC Invites IP Transition Trials

Benton Applauds FCC's Invitation for IP Transition Tests

NSA Choice Is Navy Expert on Cyberwar

White House Urges China to Act on Journalists’ Visas

Cybersecurity struggle

California Senate approves Internet privacy measure